Onwards and sideways. Abandon hope all ye who enter here. To get the full surround sound effect of Project Miserable you only have to observe Treasury departmental questions. A place from which few come out alive. Presided over by the Ministering Angel of Death (AKA Rachel Reeves). Dressed all in black like some latter day Morticia Addams.
You get the feeling that Reeves has been waiting all her life for this moment. Not just to be chancellor. But to be the Prophetess of Doom. The Slayer of Pleasure. Much of the time she can appear robotic at the dispatch box. Reciting her lines metronomically into the middle distance. Making eye contact with no one. A woman totally at home with saying no.
